Trial by Fire by Terri Blackstock Page B

apartment, Issie.”
    â€œNo, but your dad does, and it’s hanging in the kitchen on a hook. It doesn’t take a genius to know which key it is.”
    He swallowed and turned around, putting his back to her.
    â€œAnd incidently, I’ve already checked. It’s not there right now.”
    He turned back to her. “What did you tell Dad?” he asked.
    Her laughter was dry and brittle. “I didn’t tell him that I found you in the vandalized house of some old lady who died. So you don’t have to worry just yet. He doesn’t know anything.”
    â€œThat’s good,” he said, “because there’s nothing to know.”
    The obvious lie made her livid, and she got up, crossed the room, and put her face inches from his.
    â€œI know I’m not a whole lot older than you, and I know that I don’t have any authority where you’re concerned, but so help me, Jake, if that was more than cat blood on the carpet I saw in that fire, you’d better cut yourself loose right now before you wind up in prison. The police need to know about that bonfire and that carpet.”
    Jake’s eyes hardened. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Issie.”
    â€œThere you go, threatening me again. What’ll it be this time? A dead snake in my bed? A live one?”
    â€œI’m not threatening you,” he said. “I’m warning you. I don’t have a lot of control over some people. I can’t be held responsible for what they might do.”
    â€œThen you are threatening me,” she said. “I thought so.” Her eyes began to fill with stinging tears, but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. “I’m warning you of something,” she said. “You get out of this group or this gang or whatever it is that you’re calling it. You get out of it, you remove yourself from those friends, and you save yourself while it’s not too late, because, so help me, those kids are going to go down if I have to take them down myself.”
    With that, she went back to the guest room, closed the door, and locked it. For the first time in her life, she didn’t trust her nephew. She didn’t even know who he was.

Chapter Ten
    T he fact that Nick was single rarely bothered him, though he had expected to marry by now. Most of the time he was so busy that he didn’t have time to think about his loneliness, but on days like today when he was getting out of the hospital with no one to take him home and care for him, he inevitably wondered why God had not answered his prayers for a helpmeet.
    Though he had only been here one night, it would have been nice to have a wife come from home and bring his toothbrush and his shaving kit, a change of clothes. Last night he had been barraged with visitors, but no one had thought to bring him the necessities that a wife might have thought of.
    Now as he signed the papers and prepared to leave, he thought how nice it would have been if his wife had been there to fill out the paperwork for him, to fuss over him and make sure the nurses gave the proper instructions for caring for his burns and his broken ribs. It would have been nice to have someone look at him with concern in her eyes, and maybe even pamper him a little when he got home.
    He didn’t like to admit it, but it had been nice having Issie stay with him through the worst of the treatment yesterday. She had held his hand, talked him through the agony, pleaded with the doctor on his behalf. He wasn’t used to that, but he had appreciated it.
    A knock sounded on the door. He looked up and saw Jill and Dan Nichols standing in the doorway.
    â€œHey, guys,” he said, his voice still raspy from the smoke inhalation. “Thanks for coming.”
    â€œWe were glad to do it,” Dan said. “Somebody’s got to get you home, man.”
    Jill came in and hugged him. “How are you feeling,